If you bought a property at the start of Melbourne’s most recent property boom – September 2012 to December last year – you may wonder how its price had changed by the end.

After nearly six years of dramatic price growth across the city, the boom is officially over, with Melbourne’s median house price falling 1.8 per cent to $882,082 in the June quarter, according to the latest Domain Group data.

Many suburbs recorded staggering growth, with some suburbs’ medians more than doubling. But in some areas, price increases were moderate, and even non-existent, particularly for units and apartments.

New developments and investor activity in Box Hill have contributed to its staggering price growth. Photo: Eddie Jim

So who were the winners and losers in the city’s latest price boom?

If you bought in Box Hill at the end of 2012, you could have picked up a house for about $682,500. By Christmas last year, that house was likely to have increased in value by 144 per cent to $1.665 million.

“It’s changed a lot in the past five years, with Chinese investment and interest from neighbouring suburbs,” Fletchers Blackburn agent Stefan Cook said.

He said that prior to the end of 2012, the suburb’s median had lagged behind nearby Mont Albert and Surrey Hills, but a flurry of investment and development saw prices in the area skyrocket.

South Yarra, Hawthorn East and Hawthorn were also winners, with each seeing more than 115 per cent growth during the surge.

Domain Group data scientist Nicola Powell said: “The growth has been led by some of the more expensive suburbs.”

Construction has been heavy over the past few years in Travancore. Photo: Rebecca Hallas

Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Richard Simpson said it was surprising that blue-chip areas, including Toorak and Glen Iris, did not feature in the highest-growth areas, but other suburbs such as Clayton and Carnegie were there for a reason.

The outer-west featured strongly in the lowest growth areas for houses, with Brookfield, Kurunjang and Bacchus Marsh among the lowest 10 performers.

Dr Powell said these areas had not yet reached their peak, with Kurunjang, for example, seeing the second-strongest house price growth for the year at the June quarter – its median rising by 26.8 per cent to $435,500.

“It’s those areas that are still seeing growth with development and first-home buyer activity,” she said. “First-home buyers are a powerful force.”

Units in high development areas in and around the inner city saw the worst results overall, with Travancore, Carlton and Abbotsford recording median price falls of up to 31.7 per cent. Docklands and Southbank saw small gains of 1.6 and 1.8 per cent respectively.

Mr Simpson said prices in Carlton were skewed by the development of new student accommodation.

“You can buy a student apartment for $170,000,” he said. “Some of the older-style, art deco apartments have done really well and are highly sought after.”